Super Mag Draft by Jose Alfonso Sendaydiego

EDITORIAL

he reality of the environment getting injured more than ever has not quite dawned on some of us. Student initiatives on raising environmental awareness and encouraging appropriate action have been plentiful in the past years – flash mobs, concerts, publications, videos, posters, forums, advocacies, to name a few. But wastes are still unsegregated, faucets are still left open, styrofoam and plastic use is still at large, lights and ceiling fans are still left on. Even the lazy elevator use from 1st floor to 2nd or 3rd floor remains in practice. We are left wondering at their cold conscience and disturbing behavior: Seriously? Have we gone extremely apathetic that we don’t even care about the continued existence of the only world we’re living in? If the warming of the atmosphere and the one-after-the-other typhoon backlashes aren’t enough to teach us a lesson, perhaps intensified peer policing can help. Looking after classmates and friends who mindlessly harm nature and judiciously encouraging them to change ways are necessary. A heightened integration of environmental issues in class discussions may also inspire behavioral change. The university administration, on its end, is also geared at greening the campus. But no formal environmental policy in the university has been enacted yet. Hence, if a student fails to segregate his waste or throws plastic bottles on the soccer field, he can do so without fear of reprisal. The need for a university-wide environmental masterplan inclusive of rules and penalties is stronger than ever. Without penalizing acts against the environment in the university setting, offenders will only be emboldened to cause more injury to nature. Without a directive on how the entire XU community is to become a green campus, various groups will implement different well-intentioned but less-encompassing environmental efforts. Members of the newly created XU-Green Campus Agenda (XU-GCA) Committee, however, said that a document containing environmental programs and policies of the university has just recently been drafted and will be undergoing deliberations. This is a good indication. Nonetheless, we are urging the members of XU-GCA to speed up their proceedings for the eventual implementation of these programs and policies. If we are to ‘save the world’ in time, these environmental policies in the university ought to be implemented and enforced the soonest time possible – the world and its natural resources are degrading by the day. Sure, the environmental problems hounding the world are so gigantic. But the resolution to the problem all boils down to little acts of environmental kindness born out of conscience and a well-crafted policy. Segregating wastes, turning the lights off when not in use and reporting leaking water pipes are not too much to ask from people dependent on natural resources. Given the fact that this solitary life-supporting world is punctuated by environmental challenges, preservation and conservation of the Earth should go without saying.C

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OPINION

Versus Ryan Louie G. Madrid

Intrams as stress reliever

iceli is a third-year law student who works fulltime in a law firm. From 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, she’s at work in her office and at 5 onwards, she’s at her classes. The rest of the night is spent reading bulky books to meet the academic demands of the College of Law. Two weeks before the Intramurals, she had to add in yet another activity on top of her already loaded routine. She now had to wake up as early as 4:00 am to attend practices for her college’s soccer and softball teams where she was defender and fielder respectively. Notwithstanding a shortage of sleep and having to race against time to get duties done, Riceli sighs happily, saying that participating in the Intramurals is her stress reliever, an escape from all the strain in school and work. Of course, the idea of winning is still in tow, but the desire for friendly competition and stress relief through sports are top reasons for her intramural participation. Riceli and the few other sports enthusiasts who put the indulgence of athletic glory aside for the sheer fun of the game– especially Medicine and Law students—set the Intramurals on a lighter, less aggressive and more congenial mood. This feat seems to be lacking in most college front-runners where winning is the name of the game and losing is not an option. It even appears that the Law and Medicine teams know and imbibe sportsmanship better than top seed colleges who claim gamesmanship but succumb to bitterness and sourgraping upon defeat. What’s more, the very fact that these athletes continue to take the time out to participate despite a seemingly elusive win is reflective of sportsmanship in itself. We may never see the Law or Medicine sports team getting hailed as the Intramural champion, but it may be so because they are never really competing in the first place. Just like Riceli, they could be in the Intramurals for the sheer fun of it – and that’s quite refreshing for a university intramurals tainted with so much rivalry and competition.

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o you ever notice the big blue “X” printed on our gym’s center court? Looks sleek, doesn’t it? Only, it isn’t really ours. The big blue “X” I am talking about is the same logo trademarked by a school coincidentally sharing the same name with our own--Xavier University of Cincinnati, Ohio in the US. It is quite surprising how, despite this, its logo has been etched in our varsity’s jerseys, employees’ uniforms, tarpaulins and blown up in the middle of our gym for everyone to see. It is almost as if this “X” has become XU’s secondary logo except that there hasn’t been a document written to make it official. This is not a question of whether it is legal or not. One could always justify that although the letter “X” was copied as it was in the other Xavier University’s logo, a small image of a Crusader was imprinted on the bottom right corner of the “X” making it distinct in the most subtle manner. Identity. It is a crucial element of any individual, group or, institution. It is what defines something and makes it unique from its contemporaries. Xavier University of Ohio did not intend to have their logo used by just anyone, even stating terms and conditions of use in their

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website. Besides, they had reason to. It was made to reflect their institution, not anybody else’s, and certainly not XU. If we are to be at par with the Eagles of the Ateneo de Manila or the Maroons of the University of the Philippines-Diliman, we must first establish ourselves as Crusaders of Xavier University -Ateneo de Cagayan and not Musketeers of Xavier University - Ohio. Take it from Steve Jobs when he said “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” Take it from the students and staff of the University of Santo Tomas who protested after a sudden change of their University Seal. A secondary logo’s design does matter, after all. Fr. Bobby Yap has been keen in his drive for a more “professional organization” in XU. “Dili na morag gamay nga grocery ang XU…Morag shopping mall nata.” he said in his Investiture speech. “Our systems, policies, and procedures need to be of a quality that is at par with the leading national and international universities.” If this administration does begin to push for a more professional XU, a little clarification and action on this secondary logo should be a good start. After all, I’m sure SM didn’t just grab a logo from somewhere and claimed it as their own.C

An X for originality

The 6th man Jose Alfonso P. Sendaydiego

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By Maria Therese D. Agcopra and Robert A. Villaluz Rabbits are gentle in nature. They are known for timidity—calmly assessing any situation before resorting to a peaceful end. 2011 was the year of the rabbit. But it wasn’t exactly the most harmonious we’ve had since. Real life fairytale April 29, 2011 saw one of the grandest, fanciest weddings in the history of weddings. Prince William and Kate Middleton made their vows at Westminster’s Abbey with the rest of the world celebrating along with them. The happy couple is now rumored to be expecting twins. And as classic fairytales go, the girl gets her Prince Charming, and the evil witch (or—in this case—just the scruffy bad guy) gets busted. A few days after the royal wedding, Americans cheered in relief at the capture and death of Osama Bin Laden, head of terrorist group Al-Qaeda and hideand-seek world champ. On May 2, US forces raided Bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan where he was shot in the chest and head. A day after Bin Laden was pronounced dead, the world’s most wanted terrorist was buried at sea (a la Megatron) following Islamic burial tradition. For the Americans and the rest of the world, they had this to say: “Counterterrorists win.” Biggest events that never were While political humor in some animated TV series might have predicted Bin Laden’s capture one way or another, there were “professional” seers that went about announcing their predictions about world events, with Judgment day being a high-value topic. If there’s anything bigger than an epic fail, that would be Harold Camping who predicted—twice—that the world would end in 2011. He first predicted doomsday to occur on May 21. That never happened. 8

Thus, Camping postponed his apocalypse to October 21. That never happened, too. What happened, though, was that he made it to Time Magazine’s “Top 10 Failed Predictions” list. If anything, though, the only thing close to the Rapture in terms of threat to mankind was Rebecca Black. The 14-year old pop “singer” shot to fame because of her auto-tune prowess in the catchy (admit it, it is catchy) song Friday. Now famous for teaching Youtube viewers the proper order of the days of the week, Black has gone from internet sensation to worldwide phenomenon—in a way. She did a cameo for Katy Perry’s chart topping Last Friday Night music video. Chick must really have some sort of dedication to Fridays. Some of the biggest trends didn’t necessarily have to include ear-splitting tunes like Black’s, but physical dexterity. The year made way for planking, owling, horsemanning, and batmanning—potentially creative ways to protest/resolve the passage of the RH bill. Other than being the usual viral craze, today they’ve become a revolutionary statement. After budget cuts for state colleges and universities were implemented, students flocked to the streets to protest. But instead of ticking off police through noise barrage, they expressed their sentiments by planking. A congressman filed a bill against it, seeing planking as a form of public nuisance. The proposal was, however, planked.

a weekend, Deathly Hallows Part 2 garnered $476 in ticket sales across the globe, breaking records beyond comparison, and proving that even after a decade later the magic of Harry Potter lives on in the hearts of everyone—wizard and muggle alike. Although it was a relief to see Lord Voldemort die in the last Harry Potter film, it wasn’t the same reception when the world heard news of some of our idols’ passing. This year, the world lost perhaps one of the most celebrated innovators in the history of modern technology: Steve Jobs, the man that made the famous Apple insignia a symbol of quality and pure genius. In August, Jobs stepped down as Apple CEO due to his medical condition (he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003). On October 6th, at the age of 56 years, Steve Jobs was finally laid to rest. Pinoys on the rise Lots of Filipinos also made the news this year. Beautiful Pinays made waves in different international beauty pageants in 2011. From last year’s “major major” win by Venus Raj, Shamcey Supsup with her bombastic yet graceful “tsunami walk” won 3rd runner up in the

Beginning of the end While we’ve still got one more Twilight movie left to revel in Taylor Lautner’s glorious abs, The Golden Trio—Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson— were all very emotional at the London premiere of the final film in the massively acclaimed Harry Potter franchise. Over the course of Vol. 38 No. 8 December 2011

Miss Universe 2011 pageant. Following suit was Gwendolyn Ruais, who represented the Philippines in Miss World and bagged 1st runner up. In another sphere of beauty, the Puerto Princessa Underground River was named one of the provisional seven wonders of nature. Filipinos also won their own battles at home, especially regarding concerns of government corruption. After news of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s alleged plan to escape the country, the authorities were hard on keeping her from leaving when she appealed to seek medical treatment abroad for cervical spondylosis. This November, Arroyo was arrested for vote fraud in the 2007 elections. The government seemed really bent on delivering justice and installing order, though we’re still keeping our fingers crossed on the long-standing Spratlys debacle and the Bangsamoro dispute. On the sporting arena The Philippines can’t seem to have enough of basketball last year. Shortly after the NBA lockout, eight NBA superstars spearheaded by Kobe Bryant were imported to play in the Philippines against our very own players. In boxing, Manny Pacquiao once again proved that he is the one to beat when he won against Juan Manuel Marquez in their 3rd face-off. While team Marquez was whining about how their boxer should’ve won, team Pacquiao burst into celebration. The same thing, however, couldn’t be said to the fancy and well-

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celebrated Philippine Azkals whose hopes for the World Cup died after losing to foreign opponents. Like them, team RP fell short in improving its medal tally in the 26th South East Asian games in Indonesia, bringing only 36 golds and settling for a sixth-place finish. Closer to home Quite the newsmaker was our very own university, opening the year with a new president, Fr. Roberto S. Yap, and a new college, the College of Computer Studies. The Wednesday scheme was implemented, and it being a wash day, gave the students a chance to strut their stuff (with matching colorful Ray-Ban wayfarers, nevermind if they’re from Night Cafe) especially in the newest campus hotspot: the Magis Student Complex. Earlier this year, the big bad wolf threatened close to home. The German Doctors Hospital had to temporarily stop operations after receiving an extortion attempt by an unidentified group. Good thing all that tension was drowned by this year’s heated college intramural (well, aside from the three flyover constructions around the city). Just when students thought the Eagles will score their seventh winning streak, t h e Warriors gave

the Eagles a taste of their own medicine, winning by a large margin in the medal tally. The campus commotion didn’t stop there as the XU Festival Days 2011 started a little earlier, highlighting heroic leadership. And that was put to test when ‘Sendong’-triggered flash floods hit the city on Dec 17. Heroes emerged among people and the university even opened its arms for the victims and initiated relief efforts, underlining the true essence of Christmas. *** Despite the rabbit’s small size and its vulnerable appearance, this year still packed a bite and gave us a lot of action in 365 days. True enough, 2011 was still quite the bumpy bunny ride for us.C

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DISASTERS AND DEMOCRACY

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A w a k e n i n g

By Lyle Egay, Nash Alonto, Bianca Llamis

n 2011, the people took to the streets as nature took back what once was hers. It was a year of disasters and democracy, of deluge and dethronement. Lives were lost in nature’s rampage, but lives were saved by the people’s hands. Relive the moments that made headlines and history in the year that was.

UNITED STATES Occupy Wall Street started in Zuccotti Park as a protest of the “greed and corruption” in Wall Street, America’s financial hub and home of the top-earners in the country. The concept sparked similar undertakings in other parts of the US and the world.

LIBYA Right at the heels of Egypt’s success, Libya started its own move to end the 42-year dictatorship imposed by Gaddafi.Muammar Gaddafi’s reign started in a bloody revolution, and ended in the same way.

SPAIN Europe stirs as the Los Indignados Movement called on 58 Spanish cities to rise up and protest the high unemployment rate in Spain.

BRAZIL In a wet start to 2011, Rio de Janeiro was hit by a 24-hour deluge that brought about mudslides and floods all over several municipalities. In what was deemed the worst weather-related disaster in Brazilian history, over 800 lives were lost.

UNITED KINGDOM Resentment—of the rampant unemployment, racial discrimination, and wealth gap—was thought to have fueled the riots in Britain’s districts. What started out as a peaceful march to protest the death of 29-year-old Mark Duggan turned into anarchy as protestors looted homes and businesses.

BAHRAIN Protests against the al-Khalifa dynasty’s rule started on the 14th of February, and continues up to today. The monarchy responded with promises and tear gas.

EGYPT The Egyptians rallied in Tahrir Square on Jan. 25 to begin an 18day protest culminating in Hosni Mubarak’s ouster from power after almost 30 years.

SYRIA A 48-year state of emergency is under fire in Syria, where ongoing protests against President Bashar AlAssad is met with brutal crackdowns that have resulted to at least 5,000 deaths, all swept under the rug by the government.

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TUNISIA This little country in between Algeria and Libya is where it all began, when vendor Mohamed Bouaziziset himself on fire, becoming the single spark that forever changed the Arab World. He became the catalyst of Tunisia’s protest to overthrow Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s 23-year regime.

RUSSIA The people protested the results of the December parliamentary elections, calling Vladimir Putin’s party “crooks and thieves” in committing electoral fraud. The rallies in Moscow were the first stirrings of unrest shown by the Communist country in decades.

GREECE Thousands of protestors stormed Athens to protest the government’s plans for the crumbling Greek economy. While the demonstration started in 2010, it gained momentum in 2011, resulting to changes in government policy.

JAPAN March 11 was a deadly day for Japan, when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the Sendai prefecture and caused a tsunami that claimed the lives of 20,000 Japanese citizens.

PHILIPPINES Several storms brought destruction to the country’s many islands, resulting to lives and properties lost. Earthquakes and landslides also wrought havoc in the country. [LINK TO INSET ON PHILIPPINES]

NEW ZEALAND On February, Christchurch, NZ experienced a damaging magnitude 6.3 earthquake. While seismologists considered merely an aftershock of a previous quake, it was the second deadliest natural disaster in NZ, with 181 dead and widespread damages to property.

EAST AFRICA The region, composing mainly of Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia, is experiencing its worst drought in years, with 13 million people under jeopardy when two consecutive rainy seasons failed to arrive.

THAILAND Some pvarts of the country were swamped for almost three months when monsoon rains caused severe flooding. The floods, which started in late July and restarted in mid-October, disrupted the lives of an estimated 2.5 million people when the waters did not subside months after.

YEMEN An uprising in Yemen was sustained for almost a year until Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemeni president for 33 years, agreed to transfer power to his vice-president.

AUSTRALIA Several parts of Queensland were deluged by floodwaters as the strongest La Niña since the 1970s caused heavy rainfall. The floods, which lasted for two months, affected 200,000 people. It was followed by heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding in the state of Victoria.

In 2011, “revolution” and “disaster” are some of the most common words you hear in connection to international news. One by one, dictators who have kept their power for decades begin to lose their grip before finally giving way to the call of the multitude. In the same way, climate change makes itself known by bringing destruction to continentsby water, fire, and earth. It is a changing world, one where old ideals and solutions no longer hold true. We are called to rise above passivity by using our voices to shape our future. 2011 shows that the people have been awakened—to democracy, to climate change, to a new era in the history of the world. The world is trembling with the footfalls of change. Will you join the rise of the masses?C Crusader

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learned as much as I did (if not more) in my three days in Sultan Kudarat than in my three years of college. On November 3, 2011, I found myself riding a van to Sultan Kudarat with two other XU students, three faculty program officers of Kristohanong Katilingban sa Pagpakabana – Social Involvement Office (KKP-SIO) and a driver. The province is only one of the many areas assisted by Catholic Relief Services an international non-government organization in partnership with XU through KKPSIO. My job was simple: to learn as much as I can in the three days that we’d be spending with farmers in the outskirts of the city. Despite slipping on the steep hills and getting cuts from barbed wires, I managed to learn a few very important theories from each of the many humble people living in the land where money is grown. 24

Theory #1: Anyone can get rich. Magtanim ay di biro---especially if the people you are selling your hard work are paying you less than you deserve. Manong Ricardo Galve, resident coffee farmer of Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat describes his years as a farmer before XU-CRS came to his life, “Lisod jud.” Before, he sold all his harvest usually for a mere P30/kilo to a “middle man”. The middle man would then sell the crops to a huge company like Nestle Philippines, Inc. for P100/kilo, earning him a huge profit of P70/kilo! Farmers would have a hard time selling directly to companies. Without proper equipment to filter the high quality coffee beans and knowledge of how much a good kilo of coffee is worth, farmers would have to endure a low profit for a year’s worth of harvest.

Then, XU-CRS Collaboration Project came along and the residents of Sultan Kudarat were handed with hope. The project involved teaching the farmers around the area how to properly plant coffee beans. Volunteers facilitated in clustering the farmers so coffee can be sold to companies in bulk. The farmers were even made to make a roleplay presentation to practice negotiating with managers for their market studies. “Dako kaayo among pasalamat sa CRS,” Mang Ricardo says. After a year of having the project in motion, Manong Mike Bualan had bought a house and lot, cars, motorcycles and a touch screen phone---all in one harvest. Manong Jimmy Ascuitin, overall cluster leader of coffee farmers and a member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), however, invests his profit for a greener take in fertilizing Vol. 38 No. 8 December 2011

area so he’d have somewhere to sleep when he has to stay for the night. “Noon, dito ako matutulog ‘pag magabihan,” says JP, pointing at a small spot next on a house’s front yard. Sultan Kudarat is known for the Moro-Christian conflict of the past. According to JP, a Moro, the Christian members of the community didn’t trust him much in the beginning. But as soon as the residents realized that his intentions were selfless, he is now always offered a place to stay when he needs it. NGO volunteers aren’t the only ones willing to lend a hand. Local government units of Bagumbayan provide the farmers a municipal nursery of coffee and improved the roads for easy access to the area. They then ship the healthy baby plants in a truck to the main area once they’re ready. Theory #3: Students wish to do something more. Matuto ay di biro---especially if all the facts and theories are confined inside the four walls of a classroom. Before Sultan Kudarat, the place where I imagined being after college was the corporate world mostly because that was all my teachers taught me about. Then, Service Learning Program (SLP) came along and it opened so many possibilities more fulfilling than just being filthy rich. I learned a lot in Sultan Kudarat. I learned that even the poor could get themselves a touch phone with hard work and some help. I learned that you can’t talk to other people like you would to your classmates…especially if that person was an MNLF. I thought I knew hard work until I was slapped in the face with all the success stories of Sultan Kudarat. I saw opportunities in Sultan Kudarat as well. There were so many things I could give to the people there: the basics of accounting, tax laws, and how to invest their profit properly. All of these I learned from my teachers and I want to pass it on to those who need them. Right now, XU is working on integrating SLP with its different colleges, according to Mr. Arniel Daluz, SLP Coordinator. As for other projects, chemistry majors were able to warn the residents of Balingasag about the harmful chemicals found in its river. Food technology students taught the mothers of Jasaan how to make use of their rich vegetation instead of eating mere canned foods. *** I shall never forget what I’ve learned in Sultan Kudarat, taught by experience, the most effective of teachers. I hope others too will learn about the real world in places where money is grown.

their plants instead of enjoying a touch phone. He promotes the benefits of using organic fertilizers for eco-friendly farming. Theory #2: Earnest people do exist. Tumulong ay di biro----especially if you are a volunteer from a nongovernment organization (NGO). “On call ka lagi…walang holidayT,” admits Alladin “JP” Guhmalon, Municipal Agro-Enterprise Facility (MAEF) volunteer in charge of the coffee farmers in Bagumbayan. Sometimes, he and his wife would fight about the time he spends in the farms instead of his family. Thankfully, his wife was formerly a NGO volunteer so she understands…at times. “…[There are always times that] tawagan ka ‘pag may problema. Kahit Sunday o holiday mapilitan ka talagang pumunta sa area,” says JP. “Di mo maiwasan magagabihan sa area matapos ang meeting.” The road towards the area is long and treacherous, filled with remnants of landslides from recent storms. Travelling at night time is absolutely inadvisable. It doesn’t help if the people you wish to assist aren’t very welcoming. JP recalls the time when he would always pack a tent when going to the Crusader

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a r o C trabida Con Cora’s (Almost) Death Cruise M

y first thought when I woke up was “Did my Siberian Husky wet the bed?”, because it sure smelled and felt like it. Then I remembered: I didn’t have a Siberian Husky. Then I heard screaming from the outside. “Ang TV isaka! Ang TV isaka!” They were our neighbors’ voices, and they were getting desperate. The lights wouldn’t turn on. Looks like the Mayans predicted the end of the world one year late. I grabbed the two most important things in my life: my journal and my teddy bear Grinch. Already the water was up to my chin. Amazingly, I was able to break my window in one punch. “Must climb to higher ground,” I told myself. I tried not to think about the rats in my basement or my months’ worth of research papers due in January floating somewhere in my living room. I forced myself to stop listening to the cries of the people around me and concentrated on reaching my roof. It didn’t matter that random things kept bumping into me: logs, cats, and that red Ferrari I’ve always coveted. Three seconds. That was all it took for the current to wipe out my rooftop and me (Mom and Dad are so going to kill me when they get back), and I didn’t even make it to

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the top. Down I went. Like a tomato in a very sick salad, I was tossed, turned and shredded. The water tasted something like a rat would cook (sorry, Ratatouille) and I probably drank five gallons of it. Every time I clambered towards the surface to get some air, some random debris would push me back down. I actually thought I was good as dead. I figured maybe it wasn’t so bad. On the plus side, at least I didn’t have to deal with the consequences of that killer exam I took earlier that day. Maybe I was ready for heaven. But heaven wasn’t ready for Cora just yet. Grinch got himself stuck on the branch of a tree gliding along the gushing surface and dragged me along with him. So we cruised through the rapids and passed the most unbelievable things: a kid riding a pig, a baby in a bucket and a whole family rafting on a refrigerator. Unbelievable but true. I wish I had a camera. But of course I was too busy with the whole “trying-tokeep-myself-from-drowning” thing. The most difficult part of the journey was the ride through the bridges. It looked like a whirlpool underneath the Golden Mile Bridge, sucking everything down. By some miracle, our tree crashed on the side of the bridge catapulting Grinch, my journal and I in the air. Overhead I even saw what looked like rescuers just looking down on the other people caught underneath the bridge. How they could stand just looking at those poor people without even throwing them a life jacket, I hope I’ll never find out. I landed face flat on the ground. I thought I heard my bones crack. Where I was, it didn’t matter. The water around me wasn’t threatening anymore. I could feel people rushing towards me. I only thought of one thing before I completely passed out: how am I supposed to rewrite my research paper now? ***

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The reek. That’s what I remember first, when consciousness came crawling back to me, like guilty sanity seeping in after a long, crazy night. The smell was horrible, and I was pretty sure this time that my Siberian Husky hadn’t wet the bed. (Not that I had one, anyway.) So what had happened last night? I don’t remember how I got on that tree. I’m not even sure it was an uprooted tree I had been clutching, although if it had turned out to be a confused, flood-swept crocodile, I guess I owed the creature a tip of the hat for the ride. (I lost my glasses in all of last night’s craziness, so it’s probably not a long shot.) The next couple of days were a blur. (Literally.) I got to live in the XU Covered Courts for a while, and I thought that was pretty cool, minus the previous trauma and the whole “not-having-a-house” thing (Mom and Dad are really going to throw a fit). Slowly, we heard the body count go up and up: 200, 300…up to a thousand. And while we struggled with not getting to brush our teeth every morning, there were some things to keep us distracted. For instance, the absolute best part of it all was the politics. Everyone was mad at the president for not visiting the victims. And the mayor allegedly gambled before thinking he probably had to care a bit for the city. It was quite entertaining, actually. Better than Facebook. But no, I understood. The president probably didn’t have a good reason to come over. It’s not like he has all forms of transportation at his convenience, with the resources to give immediate relief to those who needed it. I mean, it’s not like he has better things to do—like making plans about making plans of visiting Cagayan de Oro. Maybe he wanted to actually be useful when he came over, and if the president of the country himself thinks he can’t be useful to the people in a crisis—well,

then—who are we to say? He probably didn’t have a decent pair of boots! And what’s a president without a good pair of boots, right? Smile for the cameras, Mr. President. At least you sent Kris over for a pit stop before her big party. She was a real delight. Oh, and I totally get the mayor. While others blamed the city government for not doing a thing to coordinate relief operations, my theory is he was waiting for the divine hand of God to fix everything that had happened. And I was right! An archbishop answered the call and did exactly what the mayor should have done. Disasters really do have the ability to bring people together. In fact, it made the church do the government a favour by performing its responsibility to the people! I also got to meet a lot of interesting people. When we weren’t comparing notes on the different flavors of flood water, we got to know each other; people from all walks of life who had lost so much. I mean, I knew I was going to be alright, eventually. The bad thing was that I wasn’t so sure about everybody else. That thought usually kept me up at night. Sometimes I slipped out in the late evenings to watch the Christmas lights along the Commerce building, in nothing but house clothes that were not mine and slippers that were two sizes too big for me. Sometimes I stayed up until morning, when the chapel would fill with singing from the misa de gallo. Maybe, in all of this, there was a lesson somewhere. Maybe my death cruise down the river counted for something. It strengthened my hope that somehow—sooner, or later—things would fall into place. C

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a r o C ntrabida Co

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know I haven’t been real nice lately. I had to experience Sendong first hand so that he could just really send the message to me directly. I’ve done nothing but write mean stuff about people. Although I know that you know that these people deserve to get a wake-up call from someone somehow. I’ve got Contrabida as my last name and job description, for crying out loud. But I guess karma and Sendong are just really good friends. So, I’ve been busy the whole year round and I think should get straight to following this stupid tradition of making new year’s resolutions. Like we need an excuse to change our rotten ways. Isn’t having rotten ways reason enough to change? No. We definitely have to wait for a new year and make it The Excuse. 1. I resolve to protest the idea of reporting. I paid her—not my classmates—to teach me. If I wanted another student to teach me, I’d have logged into YouTube. There are things in life you can’t understand without the help of a professional and it’s not like my classmates earned a degree of anything yet---which leads me to the next resolution… 2. I resolve to force my classmates to put more effort in their reports. If my teacher thinks it would make us smarter to talk in front of the class with cool power point presentations to show off, I can deal with that. What I can’t deal with is the fact that my classmates

Cora

Resol would simply recite everything in the book WORD FOR WORD. With all the droning voices and nervous stutters, can you blame me for daydreaming during class hours? Oh look, a kitten! 3. LCD screens all around the campus. So maybe this one’s not for me. See how kind I am? I even made a resolution for the big guys (a.k.a. The Administration)! You’re welcome! Partly because I think it’s more environment-friendly to see events advertised on a flat screen rather than tarpaulins (to compensate my being mean, I’ve secretly gone green). Partly also because I heard Ateneo de Manila has one. Besides, there’s something about moving pictures that make students want to actually participate. Simpletons. 5. I resolve to be a hero. Where’s my cape? Or just to have super powers, at least. Okay, I know this is a long shot but I really, really, really want to talk to machines. Do water fountains only work for people they like? Are the ID scanning machines at the gates going through something in their life that sometimes, it takes time for them to work? And most especially, are toilets having a good laugh when they won’t let us flush on purpose? Don’t worry citizens of Townsville—I mean, Xavier (yeah, I watch too much cartoons)—Cora Contrabida is here to save the day! Just as soon as I get those powers on the works.

New Year’s lution 6. I resolve to find out why the StC 3rd floor bathroom is ALWAYS locked. Or better yet, find a copy of the key to that annoying bathroom. I just love how clean that bathroom is. Heavy sarcasm. But do you know how much humiliation I have to endure after walking real fast only to find the bathrooms are all off limits and I really need to go so bad that I have to slip inside the boy’s bathroom like a ninja? Well do you know how worse it feels to get out of the stall only to find a dude is peeing in a urinal and you try to get out of the bathroom like a ninja but he still sees you anyway? Good times, good times. 7. I resolve to act my age. We need a new Black Plague. There are too many people in this world. I’m not into population control. I just don’t like people. Not people in general but people who I can’t stand. All you have to do is walk into an elevator or in a bathroom stall and you see hideous writings on the poor walls. SEX SEX SEX. Drawings of penises. Toilet gossip. Really?! Don’t you just sometimes wanna shake some of the students here and say, ‘’Come on, man. You’re better than that!’’ I can certainly draw better than that. 8. I resolve to give our security guards some counseling. The security guards are so random. And that’s sugar-coating it. I don’t know, but they might have problems of their own that they can’t do their job properly. Sometimes they’re just abusive and inconsistent. I

have a friend (just pretend you believe I’m not referring to myself). She has PE. After the torment of sports, she changes to her extra shirt. And she wore this shirt several times before and she got in campus. But now, they wouldn’t let her in. They took her ID this time, even after she reasoned out that the guard before her let her in. Even after she explained that she got in wearing this shirt before. And the guard was all like, ‘’There’s a new rule.’’ Well I --I meant my friend didn’t know about these new magic rules! What good are rules if you’re the only one who knows about them? Oh and not to mention, that same friend wasn’t let in on Xavier Days either because she was wearing shorts when several other people were strutting their stuff in shorts that same night. Inconsistent and abusive. See what I mean? Okay, so maybe not all my resolutions are completely for my own betterment (which is supposedly the point of these things). But who else is going to resolve these petty things within my school? And you can’t blame me for complaining again and again about these silly things even at a time like this. Aren’t you tired of hearing complains about Emano? I know I am, and I complained too. Overrated much? Let’s just put it this way: I guess Sendong just can’t beat the Contrabida out of Cora. Sorry to disappoint.C

THESE STATEMENTS WERE OVERHEARD FROM PEOPLE AROUND THE CAMPUS, SOME WERE REPHRASED FOR PURPOSE OF CLARITY AND BREVITY.

IPASA ANG POTOKAPI SA ANSWER SA AMONG OPISINA SA STC 302, PANGITAA ANG MGA GWAPA UG GWAPO NA CRU DADTO. KUNG MAKAKITA KAG PANGIT, NA BASIN NAWALA NAKA!! GOOD LUCK!! SA KALISOD SA KURISWORD, DAGHAN KAAYO NAG PASA, DUHA RA SILA.ATONG PAKPAKAN SILANG ANTOINETTE MAY C. BIRONDO & MANJA AGUSTINES. CONGRATULATIONS!!!